McMahon jumps on gaffe in Murphy submarine ad

Hartford -- A new TV ad by Republican U.S. Senate nominee Linda McMahon gleefully points out a gaffe in her opponent’s latest ad that confused a diesel submarine of the Royal Norwegian Navy with a Groton-built sub.

In the ad by the Democrat Chris Murphy, a narrator tells how “the Connecticut jobs Chris Murphy’s helped create...launched new subs in Groton.” Meanwhile, a short video clip of a surfaced submarine flashes on the screen.

McMahon’s new ad does a close-up of the sub’s flag, revealing that it is indeed a Norwegian flag and not a U.S. vessel.

Her campaign staff announced the finding this morning. They identified the sub in Murphy’s ad as a Ula Class submarine, built in Norway, France and Germany.

Todd Abrajano, McMahon’s campaign spokesman, said they were alerted to the initial misidentification by EB workers.

“We got some calls from supporters at EB and they said ‘that's not a boat that we build,’” Abrajano said. "This shows that Chris Murphy certainly doesn't pay attention to the details and is fast and loose with the facts.”

A Murphy campaign spokesman, Eli Zupnick, said the video clip in their ad was stock footage; he did not dispute his opponents claims about the flag and vessel. He accused McMahon of attempting to distract from the real issues in the race.

"Chris is focused on creating real middle class jobs in Groton and across the state, while Linda McMahon is focused on gotcha attacks that don’t create a single job for families in this state," Zupnick said.

The two candidates are set to debate later today at 7 p.m. in the Garde Arts Center in New London.